The BIG Event 2016 Featured Record Volunteer Participation

The 2016 version of The BIG Event, at Ferris State University, featured record student
volunteer and residential participation, according to organizers.

The Student Government Association hosted its ninth annual BIG Event on Saturday,
April 16. The opening ceremony featured a welcome from Mark Warba, the mayor of Big
Rapids; Jeanine Ward-Roof, Ferris’ vice president for Student Affairs; Wayne Bersano,
president of Student Government; and Kaitlyn Patrick, director of philanthropy.

This year, The BIG Event featured a record 1,739 volunteers and a record 285 residential
homes served to make it the largest one hosted by Ferris.

“All of the FSUSGA is proud to host The BIG Event as it provides a way for us to bridge
the gap between the campus and the community,” said Bersano, the outgoing Student
Government president who served the 2015-16 academic year.

A primary mission of The BIG Event is for students to get out into the Big Rapids
community and give back as a way to say thanks. As part of this effort, the director
position for The BIG Event, this year, became part of the cabinet of Bersano’s administration,
as director of philanthropy. The BIG Event organizers wanted to greatly increase participation
to set the bar high for future editions.

“The BIG Event means so much to us, an organization, and even more to our local community,”
Patrick said. “Not only were we able to better our programmatic efforts, as an organization,
but we were able to tremendously increase our numbers and the overall morale towards
the event.”

The BIG Event is the largest one-day, student-run philanthropic event in the state
of Michigan.

PHOTO CAPTION: Here is a scene from The BIG Event, which took place on Saturday, April
16 in Big Rapids, Mich. Ferris State University students participate in a large-scale,
student-run community service project in the Big Rapids community. The 2016 edition
featured a record number of volunteers and homes to be served.